“I got really badly sunburned, chased by sheep, bitten to death by midges, got a tick which went bad; but when I got back, something had really shifted inside me.” This is how Phoebe Smith recalls her first time wild camping, an area in which she has since become an undisputed authority. At the age of 33 she is already the author of seven books on the subject, most recently Wild Nights, published last month.

Like most outdoor-types, she takes her technology with a pinch of salt. “People love kit, they love toys. They love buying stuff,” she says, “I’m not against progress, it’s great that people are making things easier, lighter and greener, but you need to know you can go out there and not rely on it at all.”

Above all, Smith is preoccupied with spreading the word, convincing people that the British Isles are theirs for the exploring. So even if she thinks gadgets aren’t actually necessary for survival, Smith recognises their value in coaxing families and newcomers into the wilds: “If I take someone camping who isn’t into it, and I want to convince them, I give them my best kit: all the fun stuff, all the warm clothes, all my smartest gear. It helps people overcome their resistance.”

Having all the latest gear, then, could help the tentative adventurer learn to cut ties with civilisation and enjoy what for Smith is the most rewarding experience of all: wild-camping solo. “Being out in these wild places alone, surviving, taking it all in, makes you look at things a different way,” she says. “When you come back, problems that you thought were problems don’t seem so difficult to deal with.”

“I like poles. I know where I am with a pole. You can’t puncture a pole and you can improvise a makeshift pole if one snaps. That said, inflatable tents are becoming more popular, and for families I can really understand why: poles are heavy and unwieldy and there’s so many of them. How nice to just stick it on the ground and start pumping, and in three minutes it’s up.

“But Heimplanet tents are hi-tech tents aimed at high-end expedition-y types, hence the price tag, and I think serious campers might think it was a bit gimmicky. That aside, it’s a very efficient tent. It’s fairly light, robust, with space for bags and a door on each side - very good if you need the loo! The pump adds a bit of weight, though, and it makes rather a loud noise. Slightly ruins it if you’re camping in secret.”

“Solar panels have come a long way, they power quicker and better in lower light. For a long time they were next to useless in the UK because there wasn’t enough sunshine, but now they work in ordinary daylight and a foldable one like this is very cool. It’s a trickle charge, it’s not like the mains, it takes several hours, so the best way to use it is to hang it over your rucksack while you’re walking, and by the end of the day the battery should be full. They’re especially efficient if you’re going somewhere hot, and you’re guaranteed wall-to-wall sunshine.

“But it’s still something extra to carry, and its usefulness depends on how contactable and electronic you want to be. When I’m camping I try not to worry about the electronic side of my life - that’s why I go into the wild.”

“As an alternative to the UV SteriPEN, which also used UV to purify water, this is interesting. The SteriPEN was very portable, but this works much quicker and it’s very neat. Apart from camping, it would be useful if you were going on holiday anywhere where tapwater is questionable.

“It’s worth bearing in mind that, while it purifies the water, it doesn’t filter it, so if you were drinking river water you might want to find another way to get rid of specks and floaters. And while the water is perfectly safe, it won’t necessarily be pleasant to drink, so I usually take some effervescent vitamin C tablets and throw them in to improve the flavour.”

“This is new to me, but I’m not totally against it. You fill it with water, step on the foot pump, press the little trigger and have a shower. Because it’s black, if you fill it up in the morning and leave it in the sun, by the evening the water will be warm. It’s unnecessary of course: it’s extra weight, most people who go into the outdoors are having too much fun to worry about smelling bad, and you can always scrub in a stream if you need to. Even so, it packs down very small and for a family it’s another clever toy that helps turn camping into a game. It would be really fun with kids, though using it would quickly descend into waterfights.”

“It’s a lovely collision of old-school camping with new-school technology, lots of people are going to love them, but it’s heavier and less efficient than a gas stove. It’s supposed to boil a kettle in 4.5 minutes, but to make that happen you have to have the electric fan on high, and you have to keep refuelling it as you go, which might be a struggle in bad weather.

“Still, it’s very easy to light and easy to use. If you have kids, it can give you that toast-a-marshmallow experience you can’t get with gas, and it’s lovely to smell the wood burning and feel a bit primal.

“I think this appeals to someone who likes to think of themselves as a bit of a Ray Mears, outdoorsman-type, but actually likes to have a phone and something to play with. And if these toys get kids excited about finding kindling so they can light a fire, boil a kettle and charge their iPhones, my god at least they’re engaging with nature!”